This is how I spent this last Monday. It was 35 inches long and 17 inches around. Nice fish.

It is hard for me to post here because I have to leave the house to access the net. This is my Sunday morning out to read the paper and check my email. Yesterday morning we ran on Cougar Mountain and then I drove up to the Skykomish to stalk the elusive steelhead. I figured I needed to get some other things done today. I've found I can easily slip out of my present neighborhood and into the nice environs of Woodinville down near the vineyards and Redhook Brewery. I guess I've found myself a new Tully's. When I get more news I'll post here. I'd like to wish you all a most excellent week.

Happy Monday. I have had a considerably hard week trying to find my way through making decisions about changing my work and housing. I haven't felt like this in fifteen years. What is that saying about indecision being worse than a wrong decision? Well, a lot of that. Indecision contributed to the wrong decision, well actually a few wrong decisions. It has been torturous. I'm not pleased with my living arrangements and I need to change jobs soon. Apperently, these moves should have been made back toward February. Landscaping is over getting old. So when I read this in my horoscope I found it encouraging:

"Sometimes you feel like you're navigating through a thick fog, but the obscurity will finally lift today. The skies ahead are sunny and clear! You can expect an invitation to take a little trip, or an offer to belong to a special group of associates. Don't pass up any opportunities to have fun, dear Sagittarius. You can benefit from a diversion right now!"

I ran with the group on Mercer Island on Saturday and Alicia and I attempted to keep up to the Marathon Maniacs yesterday at Discovery Park in Magnolia. Saturday we went 9 and Sunday almost 12. That was enough. I'll need to put in more miles and drop some weight to keep up with them.

I also need to start writing in my real journal again. This doesn't count really. It is good for keeping y'all back on the east coast up to date with my latest. I'm still mostly up here on the plateau helping Lee get herself out of her condo. I'll get the last of my belongings out of here myself today and this chapter will come to a close. The cat is not happy about the place being broken down and he keeps a close eye on me as if to watch me leave for the last time. I'm not looking forward to that. He has been a good roommate.



So y'all wish me luck, and for Lee and Nicky too.

My move is almost complete. I emptied my temporary storage unit today and parked the stuff in my trailer where it lives in Fall City. The car didn't like hauling the thing up the hill to the plateau and out to Fall City. I'll have to get it looked at when I have a chance. I think it is good enough to drive around without anything in tow. Lee is on her way to packing up her place. I hate all the extras I need to live out here, namely the need to rely on a car and the need to move all my stuff around. What I have I'd like to keep, so I don't have much more I can jettison.

We have had wonderful weather lately and it only looks to get better. That is a good thing too because I'll feel more secure relying on the motorcycle. I have to say that this period has been a trial. What was that saying about you are exactly where you are supposed to be, no matter how things may seem to appear? Take care.

hey, I found a place to live. I'll be in the Kingsgate neighborhood of Kirkland. It seems to be more in Totem Lake to me. It is a room in a house. I hope it is good for me.

Hmmm, so here is my horoscope for today:

Sagittarius
November 22 - December 20
You should use the day ahead to ponder your professional future, dear Sagittarius. Many forces seem to be working together to clarify your ideas on the subject. Rather than rebelling at the slightest provocation, as you have been doing lately, it would be much more reasonable for you to think first of your basic material needs and those of your family.

The thing is that I tried to change my professional future three times already. The clarity came with strike three.

It's funny how music can speak to you so many years later. I was pulling weeds out of sidewalk cracks today on a property in Wallingford and I found myself singing an old Petty tune. It was "Here Comes My Girl" and in it he laments how even though so many things are going wrong, there is still his girl and he describes how she looks as she is walking toward him. That song used to really ring true for me even though I've rarely had that woman in my life. So I'm picking friggin weeds and out of nowhere really here is this song. Right now I'm sitting next to my jig stuff and I'm finishing off a beer and listening to the Big Jangle CD from his box set. It transported me to over 25 years ago. Wow, I'm an old guy. The funny thing is that I'm an old guy in great shape. I can't pass an interview to save my life but if I had to I could finish a marathon tomorrow. I'd be a mess after 20 miles but I think I could finish. Where is this going? Uh, frustration and music. Just as smells are strong triggers frustrations can be music triggers. I was big on Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers back then. He sang, "It just seems so useless to have to work so hard and nothing ever really seems to come from it." So here I am thwarted again in picking a career so late in the game, I still need to find a place to live and to add insult to injury I don't even have the consolation of her look in the eye. I'm hoping that success is the best revenge. I guess I'm still optimistic.

And of course there is some part of me observing my reflective vest wearing, weed pulling crap and saying that this bookmark will be a chapter in a greater story, much yet to be told. This is still sort of hard to take when I'm in the here and now having to wear the vest and pull the weeds and pick up the garbage. And some days I find needles and there are always beer, wine and liquor bottles. Oh, good news! The QFC near The Seattle Center will be closing - meaning no more landscape visits. That place has bottles and needles and always garbage.

Especially in his first four albums, Tom Petty was really effective in communicating his woes. Those four and Wildflowers are the only ones I would go back and listen to now. I've been meaning to make a few compilation Petty disks but I haven't done so. I also want to put together a number of other mixed disks from different parts of my life. I guess I can put this into the category of incomplete projects because I have a general idea what would go on which disk. I need time and motivation. My priority now is housing. Life down here can be so difficult.

Nope. I didn't get into school. I give up.

There, I got rid of that intellicast map which had been instigating pop up ads.



A few of us climbed Mt. Si yesterday. This is a picture taken with my camera phone and then enhanced with the computer. I have some shots taken with my real digital camera and they should be far better than this one. I have been here a few years and this was my first time up there. Next time I'm going to what they call the haystack at the top. For some reason no one was interested this climb. My climbing and descending muscles are sore. Before the summer is out I'll also have to run up it. It should be a pisser of a workout.

I bought a new fishing license today. I think I'll go to Pine Lake and give it a try. That lake opened Saturday. The trout are nothing compared to the steelhead but it is enjoyable none the less. You can be a lefty sportsman.

I'm still waiting on word from school. Maybe it got lost in the mail. I don't know. School will influence where I'll be living. I only have 25 days to move. I should be able to do some storage and couch hopping until the 1st of June. I don't want to stress any good will I have with friends here.

Here is my horoscope for today. I'm still waiting on word about school. This sounded close enough:

Have you been waiting to hear about a grant that you applied for, perhaps to create a piece of art, write a book, or make a documentary film, dear Sagittarius? If so, you may have a lot to celebrate today, as news could come your way that you've been awarded the full amount you asked for! Don't be surprised, however, if there's a delay in receiving the actual funds. The project is still going to happen - but a little later than you had hoped. Relax, be patient, and wait! That's all you can do right now.

I'm still waiting. I was hoping for the school letter today but it didn't arrive - maybe Monday. I called the bike shop and they ordered the wrong chain, and the chain they need wasn't there on Friday. They are not open on Monday so I'm waiting for Tuesday now. The weather report says that the end of the week will be nice; it'll be motorcycle weather. Woo hoo. Something I shouldn't be waiting for is finding a room somewhere. Someone put in a bid for Lee's place so my stay there may be coming to an end soon. I was hoping to know about school today so that my necessary plans will be evident. If school comes through then I'd like to be in Bellevue.

We ran in Redmond this morning. I only did an hour because I've been abusing the relative improvements in my leg lately. There is still room for more healing and that won't happen with me running three hours at a time. Tomorrow is the relay and I'll be helping at exchange four. I ran that leg last year. It starts off steep and then continues at railroad grade (happens to be flat) until the exchange that Randy is captain of. I'd then like to take my bicycle out in the afternoon if the weather permits. I keep saying that I'd like to try a triathalon this year but I need to get onto my bike for that and get into a pool.

I think my leg is coming along. I ran for an hour with the the group Saturday morning from the Burgermaster at U Village and Randy and I attempted 20 miles along Alki Sunday. We did 17 and we thought that was close enough. Our legs were falling apart. I'm very pleased because today I'm having some normal discomfort but not the nagging pain of an injury. I'm not fully out of the woods yet but I think I can see my way out. I'm not running today or tomorrow and then I'll see whether I can do a track workout or a normal run on Wednesday.

Right now I'm at Tully's taking advantage of their free wi fi. My taxes are submitted and I got some bills out of the way. I know that I shouldn't do these things at an unsecured wi fi spot but I don't have many other options. Those transactions are encrypted. I'll work this next week and then look for any notice from the school.

The other task I did was to drop the bike off at the motorcycle shop so they can outfit it with new tires, a chain and sprockets. Woo hoo, I'll be on the bike again. Next to find a place to live. Abby can't relate to living like this. Maybe once I'm out of it I won't either, except that I've lived it.

When I have more time I'll write about cooking for the Mt. Si Relay and Ultra Runs organizational meeting. I had fun, the food came out prefectly and the people were happy. There, I guess I just wrote about it. It looks like they are closing soon. Y'all have a great week.

Happy birthday Abby. She said it was a "big one."

Well it has taken me a few days to write about the interview. I didn't think I did well. I tried to explain to friends and family that I felt as though I couldn't find my voice. "What do you mean?" was the answer. I didn't feel as though I was "on." I had been concentrating on this for a few weeks, only adding to my nervousness. I'm afraid I came across as stiff and inarticulate. That is what I felt as I left the campus.

I found it hard to get to sleep that night and it wasn't long before I was up the next morning. But what I found then was that I felt much better. I guess I had worked something out while asleep and thankfully I was left with the opposite of an anxiety hangover. Not the best writing, I know, but I think you get the idea. I felt much better. I think I'm too close to it all to try and divine why. Everyone around me seems to be optimistic for me - everyone. It is very nice of them and all but I still have to wait until the latter part of this month for an answer.

I took Nicky in for some shots today and I got the travel papers he needs so I can ship him air freight down to Lee in LA. I'll really need to find a place then because he is my only good reason to still be squatting in her condo. The crazy neighbor should be showing up soon too. I'd like to avoid him.

I'll be cooking again this Friday and Saturday for the Mt. Si Relay course organizers. That is my volunteer work for our race. My leg is still on the mend. It is a very slow recovery. I don't mind this sort of cooking as long as it isn't my profession. I hope y'all have a great week. Back to work tomorrow. I really like these three day weekends. Yay for all this daylight!

Tomorrow is try three for school admission. The interview is in the afternoon. I've been studying up on my math and I think I can answer all the questions well. I should be able to by this point. After that I can concentrate on getting my own space and getting the motorcycle back on the road. At 50 miles per gallon it'll be a necessity. It needs to happen this year. I've gotta get going.

We're running on Cougar this morning. After that I'll study more for the interview on Wednesday. I've gotten through to Algebra I and I think that is how far they will test us. I've compiled the answers I've received to my interview query last year and I'll be looking at that too. The weather looks good today. Later.

From This Modern World:

"George Bush isn’t some conservative poseur, he’s the proverbial student that’s become the master. On just about every level, George Bush has improved upon Reagan. Bush has presided over political patronage that reaches every level of the government (and even into the realm of war profiteering). The Administration has had deficits that not only dwarf the gargantuan debt of their spiritual leader, but serve as a tribute to their spendthrift leader (”Reagan proved that deficits don’t matter….this is our due.”) And as the ultimate act of one-upsmanship, not only has the President pissed away every penny that comes into the treasury and buried the country under a mountain of red ink, but Bush was able to do so while continuing to cut taxes for the super rich. Beat that, Bonzo!"

I've lost the river rocks GIF at the top of my page. I switched how I log onto Blogger and now it doesn't appear. There must be a copy of it in my cache but with XP I don't know how to find it. Grrrr.

And here I go again. I've received the invitation to this years interview for the radiation therapy program. It is in a little over two weeks. I have to brush up on my math and also go over what I can remember of the questions.

I have also started back in my running and I feel so much better. I've run for at least an hour the last three days, and I'll run again tonight with the group. We all met yesterday afternoon at a restaurant in Issaquah for Ram's birthday. He broke through to the masters division on his 40th. The old guy gag gifts were fun.

Of course I'm still thinking about the fish. Joe called me early this morning and we discussed different poles and reels. He heard about a company that makes glowing products for fishing. They are called Radical Glow. I'm going to incorporate them into my jigs. I went back to sleep and then dreamt of fishing as one component. I slept late. There is no work today because we started working ten hour days once again and we all have Monday off. Woo hoo.

Lee wants Nicky to visit her so my job is to get his shots up to date and then ship him to L.A. Ram said not to forget to punch holes in the box. He said before that he had ordered a bride like that but they forgot to punch the holes and she didn't make it. I'll really need to find a place then. Nicky is part of my job up here on the plateau. Then I wont have a fat tiger cat trying to replace the computer on my lap. After the interview I'll be able to better concentrate on that task. Yeah, it still feels as though I'm moving in first gear. I'm hopeful that the behind the scenes lining up of things are going on unabated. Those decisions have been made. Everyone picture me in school please.

Go to this site and watch the presentation. Pretty clever and sadly so.

Yesterday was the last day of fishing in many rivers here in western Washington. I asked my boss for a half day and he assented. To my surprise it started snowing mid morning. There is up to a foot of snow in parts of Snohomish County. The river had a beautiful layer of white. This is where we park.



I didn't have any luck until later in the day. I fished my normal spots and nothing, so I went down to the now empty area which most of the guys usually work. I changed depth and the jig and the float went under, fish on. This thing was a cow, huge. What a nice end to the season. It was a 32 inch female. I'm told it is kinda rare to get a hatchery fish this late in the season.



I'm home from work today because Mukilteo was hit hard by this storm. And there is no fishing. It is time to look into my next steps. I dropped off this year's application to the BCC radiation therapy program a few days ago. And I'm still without my own place. Gotta work on that.

I had a nice day on the Green today. I released two native steelhead. I caught them on a river other than the Skykomish and it wasn't near a hatchery. It is a nice close to a season.

Originally uploaded by nthaniel.

They are still out there.

Check out this ad.

Here is a picture of Mom and Dad. I don't really like this day but happy Valentines. I have a feeling Dad might have been looking in on Jonathan during his recent trial.

I stayed home from work today. This morning I didn't know whether I had the flu or a cold because this cold is a little worse than a normal cold. So it's a headcold. My sinuses are killing me. I wasn't concerned about work because my properties look good, especially Monday's.

I didn't catch anything this last weekend. The Green River at Tanaskat State Park was quiet and the river was rising on the Skykomish on Sunday. I know I should be finding a place to live, but I've been playing it by ear and it felt like fishing would be good. I'll have to take care of the other stuff soon though. By being away running Saturday mornings and fishing the rest of the weekend, I don't realize how much better it would be for me to have a more permanent place to live. That became apparent to me today as I stayed home from work unable to do much more. I did go out for groceries and kitty litter later though. Having all my clothes just thrown in the closet out of sight brought it home for me. I need my own (shared) place.

I had a much better weekend than brother Jonathan and family at home. He had a blockage to an artery in his right atrium. He now has two stents in place and a new diet. That episode put the scare through everyone, patient included, as you can imagine. We are all glad he is home now and relatively well. I let the dust settle before I called Sunday. He needs a
little bell now for service. How does that sound? Y'all take care.

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Originally uploaded by nthaniel.

Five years ago yesterday. Take care Mom.

Here's an interesting observation from Alison. She says,"time and lack of contact turn exes into too-familiar strangers; people about whom you know everything and nothing simultaneously. the nothing is outlined in careful small talk, the everything is never, ever mentioned."

I ran a track workout this evening for the first time since last spring. I was pleased that I finished the whole thing. I guess I hadn't lost as much as I'd feared. Don't get me wrong though, it is never easy. I really faded on the last two laps. There's nothing like some speedwork to tighten things up. I'll run with the group on Mercer Island this Saturday. I haven't decided on the fishing just yet. I keep see the float going down. I guess I gotta go back out. <* ))))) ><

She's back. "My eyebrows knit sweaters and my nostrils start fires"

I finally got my winter steelhead. There wasn't any work today due to the extreme cold and residual snow, so rather than going back "home" I headed straight out to the river. These pictures were taken with my camera phone. I think they came out pretty good. They were caught on summer colors of orange and purple. The river level is decreasing so the clarity is improving. I got one yesterday too, so that makes three out of five in two days. I'm tentatively planning on running with the group tomorrow and after that I should start paying attention to more pressing matters. The same mindset which said that I can fish and not move on Christmas Day was behind me fishing on a snow day. And what a beautiful day it was, but cold cold cold.

I've been here about a week and a half. The cat seems happy to be in his old house. All my stuff is in the garage. I haven't found a new place yet, though I've been looking on Craig's list and a little on Live Expo. I don't have a running route here and I don't want to run after dark. I was used to the Lake Hills section of Bellevue. I like being here again though. I got here about four years ago and I literally lived in a garage. I have too much stuff for that now, and it is winter. I feel like I've sort of come home, living so close to Issaquah, but everything is all up in the air. I need a stable place to live and I want to get into school. I have lived like this for so long that I don't think I'll know what to do if things start to go well.

We have another winter storm coming through tonight. We still have power so the winds didn't do too much damage. The rain will turn to snow tonight. We heard about this storm a few days ago and I dreamt of being at home in Montague and trying to drive through the snow. It didn't work. I had to turn back. That shouldn't happen tomorrow. They want us in at 4:30 in the morning. It'll be overtime pay and I hope to be out in time to get some fishing in. If you are reading this in Seattle on Wednesday morning, then the city should be slowed to a crawl. That November storm left quite an impression. Y'all have a great day.

Bender has left the building.

I have some of this stuff packed up but I've decided not to take a trip with it tonight. Breaking news, I know. I'm getting there. This process doesn't seem to end. Right now I'm going to bed.

Originally uploaded by nthaniel.

The move has begun. I cleaned up the jig-making mess in my living room (I was amazed that the vacuum cleaner got all of the feather cast-offs) and boxed up some stuff for storage. I dropped that stuff off at Lee's and then proceeded to Fall City to pick up my trailer. I think my car battery is getting old because I left my lights on for a short time and that was enough for me to wear it down so that I was unable to get the car started again. I was really weighing my options when a wealthy guy and his boy came into the storage place to retrieve their snowmobile. I asked him for help but his Land Rover is so new that the battery, once found, was too foreign looking to be of help. The guy who lives on the lot came out to give me a jump, after recounting his days racing snowmobiles with the rich guy. I was so glad to see them coming. Hoping and cranking wasn't getting the engine to turn over. From there I took the trailer back to Bellevue to pick up my motorcycle and bicycle, which I then dropped off in Sammamish. There I met Lee's ally Marta and I had a nice welcome, which will help make my stay there be not so isolated.

I have much more packing to do, but the important thing for me is that I've started. I have the trailer so I'll be able to haul a bunch of stuff out of here tomorrow. I can do more car trips next week before resuming the trailer moves next weekend. I have to be out of here by the 31st, so New Year's Eve I'll spend in Sammamish (I always thought it was Issaquah). I've been looking for a house needing roomates on Craig's List and more recently on Windows Live Expo. I want to stay in Bellevue because I'm optimistic about getting accepted to school for next year. Please tell me that you are optimistic for me too.

As for the holidays I've lined up a Christmas Eve party in Mill Creek with some runner friends and I'm treating myself to some steelhead fishing for Christmas Day. I thought that was very nice of myself. Thanks self. I can't feel guilty about not moving on Christmas, so I thought I'd really enjoy the day out on the river, and I will. Depending on what happens up there I may head down to Orting to see Jesse and family. Well, thanks for tuning in. I hope your holidays are very enjoyable and your new year stellar.

This is my If Today Is Your Birthday horoscope:

"December 18, 2006 -- A Sun-Pluto conjunction on your birthday means it is time for a change - and the bigger the change the better. Whatever it is you have been dreaming of doing now is the time to take it to the next level. Don't look back a year from now and wish you had been more adventurous. Your life is here, now."

What I'd like is to find a new apartment. I'm working on the rest of it.

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This was taken on Mercer Island today. I got a few hours of work today, and almost more importantly, some gas. We worked on our big property on Mercer Island, clearing limbs from walks and streets. There are more trees down like this onto buildings there. I saw a few cars wrecked similarly. I'll get more overtime work tomorrow too working at the same place. I guess I can get ready to move when it is dark and I'll make my money during the daylight. I hope all of you fellow denizens of Western Washington are well and warm. I hope you have gasoline too. I hope to fill up in Mukilteo tomorrow. Y'all take care.

This was a typical sight throughout Bellevue today. Yesterday's wind storm knocked out power to most of the eastside and Seattle. I was lucky to have today off so I was spared from most of the driving hell. I did go out to look for an open coffee shop. I didn't find any so I went home with my one purchase from Fred Meyers and then set up my camp stove to heat water for my french press. That really tasted good.

I took my new camera phone with me on my run today and this is one of the pictues I took. The downed trees I saw were on SE 16th St. and 168th Ave SE near Weowna Park in Bellevue. The damage is covered by the Seattle Times here and Komo 4 here.

Well, they've caught up with me. My lease ran out in September and I've been renting month to month since then. I came home last night after our school nursing home clinical to find the note I've been expecting. I have ten days to tell them whether I'll be moving out. There is no way I'll be able to afford what the rent is going up to. Any ideas out there?

I did a little fishing this morning before I went down to Orting to see Jesse and her extended family. I took this picture of the head of this Chum Salmon just before releasing it back to the Snoqualmie River. It was like reeling in a log - that swims.

Yeah, what Dave said. Read the rest.

"When you watch Baker in motion, don't think he's working for you. He's working for the Bush family, and more broadly, the Republican Party, Corporate America and the defense industry."

I have two days off from work but I'll be doing two shifts at the nursing home. For the class we are visiting a nursing home and a hospital. I need white shoes. The rivers are still a mess so there won't be any of that recreation. There wan't enough daylight after work today to run so I'll tomorrow. I've had enough of the wet leaves. Landscaping is sapping almost all I have. This chopped up entry is proof.

This is the first day in a while I've had to fish. The trouble is that the conditions are not optimal. There is a whole lot of rain coming, thus raising the river levels. I put together a few jigs last night and I'm anxious to try them out. I think we've had enough rain.

Hello. Tonight in the nursing assistant class we learned that we will be washing dead people. Dead people.

edit: we won't be practicing on dead people; in the course of doing a nursing assistant's job, the task of washing a dead person will come up.

Enough of the profanity. Some people just suck though. Here is my latest catch. This guy put up a great fight. I headed up to the river after work yesterday and as you can see I was rewarded for it. He cleared the water twice jumping. It took me a few minutes to get him to shore to see whether I could keep him or not. He didn't like the idea of heading toward the rocks so he tried to run a few times. This time I kept the drag loose so he wouldn't break my line, but I also had to be careful he didn't get himself behind any rocks he could rub the jig and line against. I made this jig. You can see it above his head. I measured him at 31 inches. I need a bigger cutting board and sink, and a sharper knife with more like him.

I had another mower stolen off my work truck today. Fuckers.

Hi all. Not many entries lately, just some pictures of dead fish. I spent all day up on the river yesterday and today I need to get some other things done. The river is low and clear which makes the steelhead shy to bite. I guess the rising rain waters wake them up, preparing them to spawn. Part of that process is that they get aggressive, biting at things that enter their area. This is where the jigs come in. The trick is in the color combinations and presentation. I've landed four so far. One was wild so it had to be released and the other one I let go wasn't quite the size I've been used to. I don't think I'll be fishing today, what with the contusions on my legs from falling all over the rocks and with me losing gear in the river and not catching anything. I need to nail down the upcoming BCC course, get some stuff mailed out, get some domestic stuff done and then maybe run with the group tonight. Later.

Here is today's keeper. It is a 30" female chrome steelhead.

This is a better picture by far. The other pic came from my cameraphone. I like that I can send it directly from the river, but the quality is lacking. I lost the jig and float I got it on after I left that hole. I'm meeting Bob and Eric up there tomorrow and I'm very tempted to go swimming for it. This fish kind of surprised me because up until now all that I had gotten had been snags. This snag moved. And then I was thinking, holy shit - it worked. It had always been the other guy who would pull one out of there. As I was walking out of there I was still a little surprised to have it in tow. Very cool.

It is very good too. Half of it is cooked. I marinated it with basil, garlic, lemon juice, salt & pepper and some store brand red wine vinaigrette. Oh yeah, there is olive oil in there too. Cous cous and some stir fry vegetables rounded out my meal. I could eat like this every day. I guess all that cooking I did stuck some. I need to learn the art if filleting better though. Y'all have a great week.

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I got one! It is a nice 26" steelhead. Finally.

I took this picture of the New York skyline about 20 years ago I think. Being September 11th I thought I would add my 2 cents on this anniversary. At about the same time I used to hang out some with Buddhist monks and nuns at the Nipponzan Myohoji Peace Pagoda and Temple in Leverett, Massachusetts.




Here is the Peace Pagoda,



This order of Buddhism is dedicated to peace. I was idealistic, yes, but I still think that working for peace with peace is a much more rational way to approach that realization rather than the fearmongering and senseless war we find ourselves in right now. 'make sense? Here is a quote I particularly like from Seth and Jane Roberts, in Susan Watkins' "Conversations with Seth, Book one" pp230-232:

"But when all the young men refuse to kill for the sake of peace, and when all the women forbid their men to kill for the sake of peace, and when you realize that no peace will come through killing, and that the end does not justify the means, and when you grow full and light with thoughts of peace, then there will be an end to war! But as long as any men go to war for the sake of peace, there will be war. And as long as any woman teaches her sons how to go to war because of love of peace, there will be war.

"You make your world. When you populate your world with ideas of peace, then peace will grow. When you think thoughts of aggression, you attract aggression and you draw it out from others in daily contact, and on the part of nations.

"When you do not understand yourselves, you project what you do not understand upon others - upon your friends and associates - and then you become afraid of what you do not understand, not understanding that it is your own fear. And you do the same thing as a nation with other nations. There is no way to ensure peace but for every man, every man, to lay down his arms."

...

"And there is no other way to have peace but to believe in peace"

Peace.

I haven't been updating much, but in my stead, read the article about post 9/11, which includes this:

"I remember thinking that one might easily write a book with two very different versions of how the world would respond to this attack on the West.

"One version would describe people coming to their senses about the ravages of war and the need to see the world as an interconnected whole. In this scenario, the endless photos of the planes crashing into the World Trade Center towers would propel Irish Catholics and Protestants and Central African Hutus and Tutsis and other historical enemies to realize they could live together and resolve their conflicts without slaughtering each other."

Bob and I climbed to Camp Muir on Mt. Rainier last week. I wanted to post a bigger picture than this but the next size on Flickr is way too big. This is a few pictures put together. It was cool up there in the 60's, with some wind. I think we were slower getting up there than last year. There is more snow in the Muir Snowfield but hazards still exist. Avoid the blue spots. You can hear water running underneath and the footing is poor. I have more pics to assemble.

I got my CPR certificate yesterday. Tomorrow I'll get stuck with more needles, hopefully finishing off my vaccination routine. The Nursing Assistant Certified course will start the 9th of October. More small steps.

Writing of "small steps," I'm going to try out my leg this afternoon. I am hopeful after last week's climb that I'm ready to start running again. Wish me luck. I need luck with the steelhead too. I might have had some bites yesterday, it's hard to tell. One of the CPR instructors was telling me about his steelhead experiences. He echoed the sentiments of others, that the first steelhead fight will be memorable. Without exception, this is what I've been hearing. 'hope so.

Y'all have a splendid day.

I headed up to the river this morning, but didn't get a bite. I saw two other people land some steelhead though. I must be doing something wrong. After that I went to the ESR picnic at Pine Lake in Sammamish. It was nice to see my them all again, if for no other reason than to show them that I'm not dead. I had to explain a number of times about my injury (I don't know much about it) and my current regimen of beer drinking, donut eating, work and some fishing. I've really made a break with the group, which I'd like to re-establish. What I've found is that I'm not the only one. The cohesiveness of the group ebbs and flows, much like the river.

Tomorrow Bob and I will be climbing Mount Rainier. This is our annual hike to Camp Muir. I don't have to run the day before this time (see "current regimen" above) in order to give myself a handicap. I'm not even packed yet. This should be fun.

I didn't make it out to the river as I had hoped. There is still the after-effects of whatever I had. I also had to make an appointment for a CPR course and some vaccinations/tests and then run back with my college transcript. I finally went to the grocery store, made food for the week and did my laundry. Somewhere in there I pulled Lee away from her Sammamish abode for lunch. It is eight now. Oh yeah, I also went into Seattle and picked up some weighted floats. I just have to darken the bottoms. Maybe I'll go back to one of the rivers tomorrow after work.

Here is another shot of Mount St. Helens, as taken by my sister. We would have had to have paid a fee if we had wanted to get any further. They were happy with what they were seeing. It is really quite a sight.

Jeannie and her two friends left yesterday after their brief visit to Seattle. They are members of the Red Hat Society. They went on an Alaska cruise and then stayed a little longer to visit me. Picture a ship of red hatted women whooping it up. The first day I immediately drove them out to Snoqualmie Pass in order that they get an idea of the local area. On the way back I showed them Snoqualmie Falls, Issaquah, Lake Sammamish, Redmond and then my place in Bellevue. Saturday we drove out to Mount St. Helens to look at the steaming volcano. The weather was perfect (as opposed to how I was feeling), except for the slight haziness in the picture below:



After a school related meeting this morning and then some domestic laundry duties, I'll head back out to the river for some steelhead fishing. This is the hole I'm working on in Index. No bites yet. Y'all have a great week.

After some fishing in Sultan with Eric this morning, I drove down the road to the Wallace River Hatchery. Here are a load of Salmon; Kings I think. Correct me if I'm wrong. I ordered my steelhead pole, reel and line this morning. I figured that all that money spent (uh, credit card) on the car's transmission, without anything other than my freedom of movement to show for it, I would order something for my renewed hobby. Eric landed some small salmon and took one home. I didn't get anything. I think that river will be closed now for a month. My next task will be to get this place cleaned up for the arrivals of Jeannie and Jesse. They won't be staying here but they give me a good incentive straighten this place out. Two relatives in the same week - from all the way across the country. Who'll be next?

I went back to the Wooden Boats Festival a few weeks back. I like the position of these two ships together. I have more pictures of fishing and the festival (different days). Here is a quick update: I have a cold, the transmission in the car is being rebuilt, work is taking all the energy out of me, I'm still not running and it seems that I'm not getting anywhere either. I have new seed beads though. I wish I had more time for that. Lee got the first string. Happy birthday. Y'all have a great rest of the week. Time for bed.

Happy Independence Day. Go here and listen to this reading. Listen to the grievances and think about our present predicament. Remember what Ben Franklin said, "They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Don't let tyranny pull up a chair and make itself at home. Throw the bums out.

...and about that "liberal agenda."

We had a crappy, crappy craptastic meeting this morning at work. The knob has gone over to the dark side. He sort of confronted the owner on Friday about the lack of means to get all the jobs done. We don't have enough equipment for all of the crews and he said that as it goes now, he can't do the job. He pretty much resigned too, again. He did this last year at this time also. All these jobs are under-bid too. That is where much of these problems start I think. Well, the owner took this for a very short time before he brought him into the office for a lesson on Monday. So then today, Tuesday, we have the worst meeting I have ever been in. it was totally shitty. It was a my-way or the high-way sort of confrontation with a pretense of dialogue for pc consumption. What happened is that the owner doesn't like to lose so he threw it back at him, like two monkeys throwing poo at each other. What lovely shit! Which describes the writing on the wall. A**holes. G'night.

I took a ride up to the North Cascades yesterday. This picture is from Darrington on Rte. 530. From the map this must be Whitehorse Mtn. It was a long trip, so by the time I got this far my hands were getting cold. I didn't get back in time to have one of Dad's cigars for Father's day.


He's been gone for seven years now. I was in Florida pretty much wasting my time. Some day I'll fugure out the significance of my time there. I learned how to cook, among other skills. I just might have over-extended my stay. I was supposed to be out here in Washington a few years earlier. This may sound like nonsense, but I was to meet an asian woman and have a kid. That didn't happen. That was a probable self. The girl would be about seven or eight now. I dreamt of her once. Beautiful.

If I had gone out west at that time then I might not have gone home to take care of Mom. Wow, Mom followed two years later. Was that five years ago now? I gotta get going myself. Landscaping aint cutting it (um, no pun intended).

I don't expect Dad's cigars to be any good by now, and not that they were in the first place. Dad preferred cheap ones. He doesn't have a cigar or pipe, but here he is with Mom, Jonathan and the three girls, before Chris and I were thought of. Thanks for the picture Scott.



A little slice of time.

Now would you look at my nice work there.

This may not sound like news, but for me getting this done, for some reason, is a sort of breakthrough. I repaired my chaps today. The snaps on the left leg were all broken. For the longest time I had to use duct tape to keep the leather from flapping around and then unzipping as I rode. This was driving me crazy. I was good as long as the duct tape held. I replaced the snaps on the left leg and used some rivets to secure the zippers on both sides. I see a metaphor in here but I don't really want to address it. The chaps are whole again. I went to a craft store in Issaquah and found most of the supplies I needed, and then a few thumps with a hammer and I was back in business. Woo hoo. I'll take my victories where I can get 'em.

Here is my apartment as black and white. It sort of reminds me of the early fifties, when the promotional pictures for books and such looked like this. My apartment complex is undergoing a major face lift. They are changing the name and also doing some serious work on the buildings and landscape. That is why my plants and deck stuff are inside.



Here is my apartment as blue:




It really turned the outside red. Pretty cool I think.




Here is a picture of the bike in front of the Wenatchee River just outside of Leavenworth. The rest of the ride was sort of wet so I didn't get many more pictures than this. I got onto 522 and kept going on 2 after I couldn't find the road I was looking for. I figured I was on the bike for about six hours. I went through three mountain passes and realized that I never want to live in Cle Elum; visiting there is just fine. I had a probable me bleed-through during the trip. It was very odd. I liked what my probable self was doing.


A few days ago I took my bicycle down off this hill and across the I90 bridge over to Seattle proper. The tunnel opens to the Philosophical Promenade. Nietzsche is quoted there:



It is kind odd to see Nietzsche and Plato over there. I was disappointed to not find Socrates. He was top shelf. Here is to an examined life. Cheers.

Aum Peace Peace Peace

leavenworth 5-31-06

I took a detour on the way home from work yesterday and I found myself here, along the Wenatchee River just outside of downtown Leavenworth. I got home a little after 9:30. Tired.

Too many.

Here is an example of high art. I know the director's father. Hi Carl! Click away.

Hunter over at Daily Kos says,

"The only error, Nixonites and their broad base of supporters determined, was getting caught. And so the difference between then and now is that this administration is even more secretive, using the War on Terror to claim preemptive legitimacy and secrecy over every action, no matter how absurd the supposed justification seems. They intend to circumvent the mistakes of the past. They don't intend to give any institution -- the Congress, the FISA court, the press -- the slightest hint of sunlight through which the new but familiar, ever-expanding 'programs' can be illuminated."

Read the rest.

I took the bike out for a ride yesterday and headed out towards Mt Rainier. I found out that 410, as it heads into the park, is closed, so I went up to the Crystal Mountain Ski Resort. This is what you see as you turn around to head back down the road. There is still some snow up there.

Today I returned to the Squak Nursery to get some plants for my deck. It proved to be a little expensive but I think will be rewarding once they take off and grow. The bugs should be happy too because I got some of their favorites, petunias and impatiens. I also picked up some plants for my empty bonzai planter. The miniature juniper is the right size now. I don't admit to knowing what to do with it if it survives. We have had beautiful weather here in the Seattle area. New England has been pretty wet. Even my brother up in New Hampshire is affected. Western Massachusetts seems to have been spared the worst of it.

I tried out my leg today and I think I can inch my way back into running, fingers crossed. I don't know what I'll be able to do next weekend though. I may pace some friends for their run.

I just clicked over to The Seattle Times and found this picture on their webcam. Pretty cool. Here is the link if you want to see what it looks like in your time-frame. You can go to this page and click on the picture. The javascript will pop it up for you.







I have to write this way down here so that it won't crowd the picture below.

Maybe this is where the motorcycle thing started. I remember wanting one for graduation. My mother laughed. I didn't really think about motorcycles after that until about 2000. Before that I identified more with bicycles even more than cars. If I could get by without a car right now I'd do it. This is a picture of me in front of my brother and his BSA. I'm told that my other brother and I used to run around saying, "BSA, BSA, BSA!" when Jonathan would show up with his motorcycle. If this picture was indeed taken in '66 or so then this was before he left for the service. Do I look 3 years old there? I don't remember much of the bike other than that. It was sacrificed to pay my parents' bills while he was in VietNam. One other thing I remember is my father thinking he could give me a ride on it or another, and of both of us falling. Any family members out there who remember better can correct me on this. I think I'm on my way to the city on my motorcyle right now in search of a book. Ciao.

Even though I knew there was a threat of rain, I took the bike out for a ride today. I looked on the radar and I thought it was clear a bit north because the rain seemed to be more to the south of I90. It turned out that there was a convergence zone up into Lake Stevens and Granite Falls. I got wet. This is a picture of the main drag through Granite Falls. I still haven't seen the falls there. I'm told they are very close to town. The wind was somethin' wicked today. It was no fun on the faster, less sheltered roadways.

These aren't the best pictures. I think they show the limitations of my relatively old camera. I went to the arboretum today after I cleaned up the motorcycle. The bike is shiny now and the arboretum is close to being in full bloom. The fruit trees are mostly past, the rhodies are colorful and the azaleas are getting ready. I also cleaned up the pots and plants on my deck this afternoon. I had to do something with myself since my leg won't let me run. This bites. I hope y'all had a great weekend. Mine ends tonight.